Gold-washing apparatus



(No Model.)

S. S. 8v 0. L. HELLER.

GOLD WASHING APPARATUS.

atented May 11, 1886 JWJ W WITNESSES 17 06 MM AMA 3W IJVVEJVTOR I IflttarnayJ.

NITED STATES PATENT trier.

SIMON S. HELLER AND CALVIN L. HELLER, OF BOULDER, COLORADOQ GOLD-WASHING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,750, dated May 11,1886. Application filed December 10, 1885. Serial No. 185,238. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, SIMON S. HELLER and CALVIN L. HELLER, both residentsof Bonl: der, in the county of Boulder and State of Colorado, haveinvented certain new and use i'ul Improvements in GoldW VashingApparatus; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which "form a part of this specification,and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a Homeprovided with our improved apparatus for saving gold and quicksilver inplacer or hydraulic mining, showiuga portion of the box broken away; andFig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both thefigures.

Our invention has relation to gold-washing apparatus, and moreespecially to apparatus for saving gold or quicksilver which may not becollected in the flumes in apparatus for placer or hydraulic mining; anditeonsists in the improved construction and combination of parts of suchan apparatus, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the end of theilume, through which the water containing the gold-bearing dirt iscarried, and the end of this flu me rests upon a step, R, formed attheclosed end, 0, of a long box, D, which is open at its discharge end andclosed for the greater part of its feed end. The feed end, or the end atwhich the water passes from the flu me, is slightly raised above thedischarge end, and the inner side of the closed end of the box is formedwith a step, E, upon which one end of a screen, F, rests, which screenhas its upper surface level with the upper edge of the end piece of thebox, while the other end of the screen rests upon lugs G in the innersides of the side pieces of the box, the upper portions of these sidepieces projecting considerably above the surface of the screen.

The screen consists of a top plate, H, of perforated sheet metal orwoven wire and of a number of transverse slats, I, having their a numberof cross-pieces, L, over which the i gauze covering M of the screen ispassed in a zigzag line, the said gauze being secured at the ends andside pieces of the screen-frame and presenting an undulating surface,with the crosspieces projecting across the upper surface at the lowestplaces of the said surface.

A pan, N, is placed in the lower end of the box, resting against a sill,O, at the bottom of the open end, against which sill the gauze screenalso bears with its end. The sides of the box at the open end are formedwith perforations P near the bottom, which perforations are providedwith plugs Q, fitting removably in the same. The open end of the boxopens into any suitable chute or flume, which may carry the water andwashed dirt away. It will be seen that as the water carrying the goldbearing dirt enters the upper end of the box, a portion of the water andthe heavy black sand, gold, and quicksilver willpass through the upperscreen, and, striking the inclined slats, will be thrown toward theclosed end of the box, and the line gold and quicksilver will passthrough the gauze screen and be collected in the amalgamating-pan at thebottom of the box. The coarser particles of gold will remain upon thegauze covering of the lower screen, and the black sand and water may attimes be drawn offthrough the perforations in the side of the box byremoving the pins. The undulating surface of the gauze screen will serveto catch and hold all particles of mineral falling upon it, preventingthem from being washed away, and the crosspieccs upon the upper surfaceor the said screen will serve to catch and retain all particles toocoarse to pass through the screen.

This apparatus is especially designed for being placed at the ends ofthe l'lumes used in placer or hydraulic mining, for the purpose ofcollecting all gold or quicksilver which may have been washed over thecrossstrips in the sluices, thus preventing any possible waste of eithergold or quicksilver, which otherwise may'take place in this kind ofmining, but it follows that the apparatus may also be used for washingthe gold-bearing dirt without first having removed the greater part ofthe gold in sluices, when one box of sufficient length maybe used, oranumber of boxes, one placed below the discharge end of the other andwashing the dirt passing from the other.

Having thus'described our invention, we claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States-- 1.. In a gold washing apparatus,the combination, with a box closed at one end and open at the other andslightly raised at its receiving end, of an upper screen having aperforated top plate and a number of transverse and rearwardly-inclinedslats, a gauze screen at the bottom of the box, and a pan beneath saidgauzescreen, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

2. In a gold washing apparatus, the combination, witha box having anupper screen, of a lower screen consisting of side pieces connected by anumber of cross-pieces placed at a distance from each other, and agauzecovering passed under and over the said crosspieces, forming anundulating surface, as and for the purpose shown and set'forth.

3. In a gold-washing apparatus, the combination of a box slightly raisedat its receiving end, and having the said end partly closed, and havinga crosssill at the bottom of the discharge end and perforations providedwith removable plugs in the sides of the said end near the bottom, anupper screen having a perforated top plate and transverserearwardly-inclined cross-slats under the perforated top plate,'the saidscreen having its surface level with the upper edge of the end piece ofthe closed end, a screen supported above the bottom of the box andhaving cross-pieces,and a gauze covering passed over and under the saidcross-pieces, and an amalgamating-pan resting upon the bottom of the boxat the lower end of the same, as and for the purpose shown and setforth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereuntoaffixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

Vitnesses:

H. E. ROWLAND, I. T. GUINN.

